The latest report on state employment suggests that Arkansas labor markets . The unemployment rate remained at 4.7% and employment increased only slightly.

The components of the unemployment rate changed little from April to May. The number of unemployed was essentially unchanged (-43) and the number of employed was up by 658—about half of the average monthly increase over the previous 12 months. The labor force increased by 615. None of these changes were sufficient to change the unemployment or labor force participation rates.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 1,600 from April to May, partly offsetting the (revised) 2,800 decline in the previous month (seasonally adjusted data). Employment declines in Construction, Wholesale Trade, and Other Services were offset by gains in other sectors, particularly Leisure & Hospitality Services. The surge in Leisure & Hospitality employment (+2,300) reversed a sharp decline in April (-2,000), revealing that the April contraction was likely a seasonal anomaly. Other sectors showing notable gains were Nondurables Manufacturing and Transportation & Utilities.

Employment in four sectors—Construction, Wholesale Trade, Information Services, and Other Services—have shown year-over year declines, while all other sectors show increases from May 2024. Education & Health Services has displayed the largest gains, with notable increases in Retail Trade, Leisure and Hospitality Services, Financial Services, and Professional & Business Services. In the latter category, gains in Management of Companies & Enterprises were offset by declining employment in Administration & Support services, with the net gain coming from Professional, Scientific & Technical subsector.

From May 2024 through May 2025, we’ve seen a total increase of 18,300 jobs—a gain of approximately 1.3%. Over the same period, U.S. nonfarm payrolls expanded by 1.1%.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

The latest state-level report on employment and unemployment was unremarkable in most respects, but did hint at ongoing weakness in the state’s labor markets. The unemployment rate was unchanged from March, but at 3.7% it was 0.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. The unemployment rate for the U.S. was also unchanged at 4.2% for the month—and also up 0.3 percentage points from April 2024.

The gradual increase in Arkansas’ unemployment rate has been driven by persistent increases in the number of unemployed. Interrupted by only a slight decline in December, the number of unemployed has risen by 4,855 over the past 12 months. The number of employed increased by 1,406 in April, suggesting that the slight decline recorded for March was anomalous. As a result of the increases in both employed and unemployed, the labor force expanded by 1,519 for the month.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 1,200 from March to April (seasonally adjusted). Before seasonal adjustment, employment increased for the month, but in several categories the gains were smaller than typically expected for April. For example, not-seasonally adjusted employment in Leisure and Hospitality Services increased by 2,100 jobs. After adjusting for seasonality the change was a decline of 1,800.

More generally, the seasonally adjusted changes in payroll employment were mixed. In addition to Leisure & Hospitality Services, there was also a substantial decline in Nondurables Manufacturing. Other goods-producing sectors saw increases for the month, as did Professional & Business Services (exclusively in the category of Administrative and Support Services) and Education & Health Services.

Over the past 12 months, payroll employment has increased by 17,800—about 1.3%. Over the same period, U.S. payroll employment increased by 1.2%.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

The state-level report on employment and unemployment shows some unwelcome weakness in Arkansas labor markets last month. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.6% to 3.7%, while household employment showed a slight decline. The report on nonfarm payroll employment also showed a slight decline (seasonally-adjusted), although the data for February were revised higher, implying a net increase from the level reported a month ago.

The increase in the unemployment rate was driven by small changes in the underlying data. Household employment was practically unchanged, declining by only 242 (less than 0.02%). Although the downturn was small, it represented the first negative month since April of 2020 (recently revised data). The number of unemployed increased by 502 in March—the third consecutive monthly increase, with the total for the first three months of the year increasing by 1,627. As a result of the tiny decline in employment an the increase in unemployment, the labor force expanded by 260. The labor force participation rate remained stable at 58.4%

The national unemployment rate had previously been reported as rising 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 in March. Arkansas’ rate remains lower than the U.S., but the difference has narrowed to the point that it is not statistically significant.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment also experienced a small decline, -200 (seasonally adjusted). The data for February were revised higher by 2,500 for a net gain since our report last month. The not-seasonally adjusted data showed an increase for the month, but that was largely attributable to gains in Construction Employment and Leisure & Hospitality Services, both of which tend to experience seasonally increases in the springtime. After seasonal adjustment, the changes in both sectors were positive, but of much smaller in magnitude. Retail Trade also tends to pick up in the spring months, but was up by 600 jobs in the not-seasonally adjusted data and was down by 700 jobs after seasonal adjustment.

Although the total showed a small net decline, we saw strong increases in Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, and Education & Health Services. Professional & Business Services declined from March, offsetting relatively large increases of from the previous three months.

Since February of 2020, total Nonfarm Payroll Employment has expanded by 87,800, a gain of 6.8%. Over the same period, U.S. payroll employment has increased by 4.7%.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

The monthly report on employment and unemployment by state for February showed stable conditions in Arkansas’ labor markets. For example, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%. By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up from 4.0% in January to 4.1% in February.

The Arkansas labor force expanded in February by 1,345, with an increases of 385 employed and 960 unemployed. Monthly labor force growth has been positive every month since July 2021. Employment growth has been consistently positive since the economy was emerging from the pandemic in 2020.

Over the past 12 months, the labor force has expanded by 22,264, with increases of 18,205 employed and 4,059 unemployed. The unemployment rate reflects the increase in the number of unemployed, having risen from 3.4% to 3.6% over the past year.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged for the month at 58.4—which was 0.4 percentage points higher than in February 2024. The U.S. participation rate has declined by 0.2 percentage points over the same 12-month period.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged from January to February, although the January increase was revised down from +3,000 to +2,000 (seasonally adjusted data). Employment in Retail Trade and Nondurables Manufacturing showed increases, but the other service-providing sectors showed a preponderance of monthly declines, including Professional & Business Services, Leisure & Hospitality Services, and Other Services. Employment in Transportation and Utilities was also down.

Over the past year, payroll employment is up by 18,400 jobs—approximately 1.4%. The year-over-year figures show that February’s weakness in service-sector growth is not indicative of the trend. Over the past 12 months, service-providing sectors have accounted for 17,400 net new jobs, with the remaining 1,000 job-increase found in the goods-producing sectors.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

In the final month of 2024 the Arkansas unemployment rate crept slightly higher, from 3.3% to 3.4%, while both household and payroll employment continued to expand. The national unemployment rate edged lower in December to 4.1%, contributing to closing the gap between rates for Arkansas and the U.S. Nevertheless, Arkansas’ unemployment rate remains significantly lower than the national average.

The number of unemployed increased by 1,057. This was the third monthly increase, with the cumulative increase totaling nearly 2,000 (+1,897). Although the monthly pace of employment gains has slowed somewhat in the past two months, total household employment was up by 1,487 with a three-month increase of 5.663. With increases in both employed and unemployed, the Arkansas labor force expanded by 2,554 in December and by 7,560 over the past three months. Compared to a year earlier, employment was up by 31,598 (2.6%) and the number unemployed down by 3,028.

The expanding labor force pushed the labor force participation rate higher over the course of 2024. From December 2023 to December 2024, Arkansas’ participation rate increased from 57.5% to 58.2%—exceeding the pre-pandemic rate. Over the same period, the U.S. participation rate was unchanged at 62.5%.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment expanded by 1.300 jobs in December and was up 24,600 from the previous year (seasonally adjusted data). The monthly increase was dominated by surge in employment in Professional & Business services. Most of that increase was in the category of Administrative & Support Services. Leisure & Hospitality Services also showed a strong gain, continuing to recover from a sharp decline over the summer months. Education and Health Services showed an unusual monthly decline, with both the private education and health care categories contracting.

Over the past 12 months, payrolls have expanded by 24,600—an increase of 1.8%. The most significant growth sector has been Education & Health Services, with strong gains in Professional & Business Services as well.

With the first-published data for 2024 now complete, the next state-level employment report will incorporate annual revisions. The annual averages for unemployment rate data will be released on March 5, 2025, and the fully revised household and payroll data will be released on March 17, 2025. Stay tuned!

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

The November employment report showed continued strength in Arkansas labor markets. Although the number unemployed edged higher (+669), the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.3%. The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% to 4.2% for the month.

The number of unemployed rose for the second consecutive month in November, but the two-month increase amounts to only 817 and the number of unemployed remains lower than it was in July and August. The number of employed increased by 1,073 in November–a slightly slower pace than in recent months, but it continues a series of uninterrupted increases for over a year. The labor force expanded by 1,742.

Recent labor force growth has driven an increase in Arkansas’ labor force participation rate, which ticked up to 58.2% in November. Since March, the participation rate has risen by 0.8 percentage points.

Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment expanded by 1,000 jobs in November (seasonally adjusted). The gains were entirely attributable to growth in Durable Goods Manufacturing and Health Services. Most other sectors, including Leisure & Hospitality and the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sectors saw employment declines for the month.

From November 2023, payroll employment has grown by 24,000 jobs—representing growth of 1.8%. Over the same period, U.S. employment growth has been 1.4%.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.

The state employment report for October continued to indicate a trend of better-than-expected employment growth and low unemployment. The unemployment rate remained at 3.3%, significantly lower than the national average of 4.1%. Employment growth continues to be impressive, whether measured in the household survey data or the establishment survey data. By any measure, total Arkansas employment was at record levels in October.

Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.3%. The number of unemployed was essentially unchanged (+132), while both the number of employed and the total of labor force rose by over 3,000.

The Arkansas labor force participation rate was unchanged at 57.1%, having recovered to pre-pandemic levels in recent months. The U.S. participation rate remains slightly lower than in 2019, consistent with long-term trends associated with an aging population.

Payroll Survey Data
The information from the payroll survey was also generally positive. Total nonfarm payrolls were up by 2,900 jobs in October and job growth in September was revised upward by 700 jobs (seasonally adjusted). Employment in goods-producing industries was up slightly in October, with gains in Construction and Durable Goods Manufacturing offsetting losses in Nondurable Goods Manufacturing. In the service-providing sectors, Retail Trade was the only sector with notably negative employment growth. In the not-seasonally adjusted data, employment in Retail Trade was unchanged, so the decline in the seasonally adjusted statistics can be interpreted as indicating that employment in that sector has fallen short of the increase that typically happens at this time of year, relative to trend.

In the year-over-year statistics, total employment is up by 21.7 thousand jobs, with over half of those represented by the increase in Education & Health Services (primarily Health). Health Services represent the largest contributor to longer-run employment growth as well, with significant contributing sectors that include Construction, Retail Trade, and Professional & Business Services.

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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.